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[http://www.boxer.senate.gov/~senator]

               June 13, 2005

Mr. Robert                        

Dear Mr.:

     Thank you for contacting me regarding the
USA Patriot Act.  I appreciate this opportunity
to respond to your concerns.

     Congress passed the Patriot Act in October
2001, following the September 11th terrorist
attacks.  At the time, some of its provisions
were recognized as necessary short-term
responses to a national emergency.  As a result,
many of its provisions will terminate at the end
of this year.  The Senate Judiciary Committee
will hold hearings on these expiring provisions
this spring.

     Several provisions of the Patriot Act are
now recognized as ineffectual, overly intrusive
on citizens' civil rights, or both.  One
particularly troubling provision subjects our
nation's libraries and bookstores to sweeping
searches by the federal government.  I believe
that information held about us by libraries and
bookstores should be subject to the regular
search warrant process   not secret warrants
obtained in secret courts.  That is why, in
2003, I introduced the Libraries and Bookstore
Protection Act, S. 1158, which would require the
federal government to obtain a regular warrant
tied to a specific suspect before conducting a
search in any of our nation's libraries or
bookstores.  

     ^L     Again, thank you for contacting me.  Rest
assured that I will continue to be vigilant when
it comes to maintaining the civil rights that
define our freedom.  Please do not hesitate to
contact me in the future about the issues that
concern you.

                    Sincerely,

                    Barbara Boxer
                    United States Senator

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